Avengers: Beware of the Mad Dog
by comingupambr0ses
Summary: 21 years after her retirement, Madeline Bennet returns to SHIELD to destroy a radical HYDRA subdivision once and for all. But with her two adopted daughters, an ex-lover, her estranged husband, and her nephew on the helicarrier, Maddie has a lot of explaining to do... and some teaching as well. (Full Summary Inside, OC-Heavy, Does Not Follow MCU timeline)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**So, I've been working on this story for almost four months, and I've been dying to post it, so I hope you all enjoy it! Fair warning, though: it is an OC-heavy story, and doesn't follow the timelines of Marvel Comics or the MCU. It does reference the first Avengers and CATWS, but nearly all of this is on an original timeline. The story takes place in the near future, and the main character is very loosely based on the original Miss America, from when Marvel was still Timely Comics. Had I found editions of the comics in my area, the story would probably have been completely different.**

**Madeline Bennet is an extremely unique woman. After a freak accident over 75 before the time of the story, she has shown very little signs of senescence. Because of this, she had been an essential part of Project: Rebirth, SHIELD, and even the early stages of the Avengers Initiative. However, after twenty-one years of retirement from SHIELD, MAD DOG, a HYDRA subdivision, has tracked down Madeline and her family. In order to survive, she has two options: the first is to run away and force her family to start over without explanation; the second is to bring them into the family business and risk their lives even further by joining her former employer in trying to permanently eliminate HYDRA once and for all... She'll likely choose the latter.**

**DISCLAIMER: None of the characters owned by Marvel/Timely are mine.**

* * *

After twenty-one years of freedom, Madeline Joyce Bennet was still traumatized by what she had done. She knew that she had done some of the most important work of all time with them, but all she wanted was to eliminate the past eighty-four years from her memory; no matter how many awards she'd received, she believed she had done more harm than good. And all it took was one man to ask her whether she was a freedom fighter or a terrorist. To that day, she still couldn't answer that question.

That was what she thought she was so many years ago - a freedom fighter. Freedom was something built in her blood, invested in her as deep as a trench in the ocean. When someone tried to tell her she wasn't, she retaliated. But after that one man asked her what she was, she just... gave up. The next day, she announced her retirement to the office and one month after, she was gone. Twenty-one years later, she hadn't fought crime since…

That is, until yesterday afternoon.

She and Elizabeth were watching a marathon of House of Cards. It was a warm but breezy Saturday afternoon, and all of the windows were open in the house. Paige was out running errands for the three of them in the city, and when she came back, watching True Blood reruns was inevitable. She and Liz had been watching Kevin Spacey since midnight last night, and the two of them were exhausted, but were eager to find a new series. Elizabeth wanted Orange Is The New Black while she wanted to see The General by Keaton. They'd been discussing what to watch for a good long time before they heard screams from outside the window, and she and Elizabeth were sure that those screams weren't an animal's. She could sense the slicing open of something unusual. It was quick, but leaving wounds far more frightening than the physical wounds. She had a small idea of whom it could be, but she thought they had promised not to come back. The only way to check, though, was investigate.

"I think I should go see what's going on." She finally said after a long silence.

"Yeah, you should." Elizabeth said back. "I don't wanna leave the couch."

"Okay, then... Take a nap for me, hon."

"With pleasure." Elizabeth yawned, her hair already looking like she'd been sleeping all day. "Let me know what happens."

And as soon as Elizabeth was asleep, she started running. She bolted through the door and kept going for what really were miles but felt like feet. Her heart felt like it was at a jogging pace, her breathing nearly in slow motion compared to her speed, and she wanted to fly, but her head kept telling her no. But after internal battle, her heart won over her head and when she reached maximum speed she shot to the sky like a bullet, not caring so long as she could reach the person in need. And she did, but the criminal was not the one she expected. He had the same uniform of the other one: black puffer jacket, unzipped, black long sleeved shirt, and black cargo pants. His hair was long and light blonde, and his eyes were green and glassy. They were also bloodshot, and his hair was slicked back in the exact same position. Lastly, on the back of his jacket, the shape of a mad dog was embroidered in grey, and it's eyes were red jewels.

"Hi there, friend," the man said once she landed. "Good to see you again. How did you arrive so quickly? And oh, that entrance-"

Wait. she thought. Ohh. Well, this sucks.

Though her cover was blown, she had to keep her composure. "What do you mean, again?"

And then his skin and hair morphed into what they were the last time - mocha skin and jet black hair. His nose got thinner and pointier, and his face became more angular and defined. The woman that was sliced would probably have screamed had she not been losing blood faster than expected.

"Again." he said.

"I thought I told you to stay away from here."

Swiftly, he moved her against a tree, his hands pinning her arms to the wall. His smile stretched farther than miles of plains, but all those white teeth were bloodstained. "But don't you see, love?" He asked, pressing his forehead to hers. "I don't follow rules. Especially from girls like you." He looked down at her neck, where her dendritic scars began and trailed down her shoulders. "But you may not be a regular girl after all... you're hiding something..."

She knew she had no other choice. She would either have to die in his arms after living so long, or take a chance and break the one rule she had… for her survival.

She chose the latter.

She kneed his gut swiftly, then kicked him on the top of his head when he was hunched over in pain. He fell over into the fetal position, and he started... howling. Weird. Does he really think he's a dog? She wondered. But then he started growling, and he got back up slowly to circle her. It was too late, though; she was already circling man's eyes grew wide.

"God, that's such a turn on. Tell me, are you like this all the time? All tense and agile?" He breathed in heavily. "Because that's how I like my women."

Stealthily she slid under his straddled legs to stand behind him. She stood up quickly and fluidly before turning to face his back. The jewels of the mad dog's eyes were glowing like the red and orange embers of a bonfire in the night. He turned to her, his eyes dark with desire and anger. Admittedly, it was kind of hot; however, she didn't think what he did as a human was hot at all.

"Well," she hissed, her grin as evil as his. "Looks like you'll have to find out."

And then they fought. He charged towards her on all fours, but when he pounced she rolled onto her side and landed 90 degrees to his right. He tried pouncing again, but she somersaulted under him and gracefully moved up the trunk of a tree and onto a low branch. Her jacket was already on the floor, leaving her more room to stretch her arms, but now she didn't need them. Before he could turn again, she jumped, landing on his back with her knees. The man started to flail, but she grabbed his neck and stretched his head to face her upside down. They both knew this wasn't going to end well, but he growled anyway, low with desire to kill but intense enough to make even a dog trainer cry. And just as he was about to bark, she twisted his neck so he could face her, and just like that, he was dead, traces of his spirit already starting to leave him in wisps of red light from the mad dog's eyes. It was almost like a ghost fire, but like a real fire, it warmed her soul. Within seconds, like she had figured, the light went to the sky, and now she had to turn to the dead girl.

A pool of blood surrounded the left side of her body, and she had gone deathly pale, but she knew she could heal her anyway. In her pocket, she reached for a small vile of transparent liquid with a black dropper lid sealing it. After opening it, she placed three drops in the blood on the ground and two drops on each edge of the gashes across her abdomen. She checked for other wounds across the face and head, and she found a bruise occupying over half of her hairline, forehead, and a fraction of her skull. Placing the last of her drops in these three areas, she looked back to the sky for some kind of answer from whatever could be out there. Looking back down at the wounded girl, she placed a hand on her head and another on her stomach and said, "Gratia Dei medere vulneribus." Immediately, her blood on the dirt began turning a brighter red, and she turned the woman on her side. The blood began going back into her body, and her skin turned back to its peachy tone. Her bruise eased up to a yellow-ish with purple in the center, and then her eyes opened, showing the world a sea within her light blue eyes.

"Wh… Where am I?" the girl asked. Her stomach gash was already closed, but was still scabbing at the edges. "I… I feel so weak."

"Yeah, that's what usually happens," the woman answered. "You're in the woods in upstate New York. Do you know what happened to you before you got here?"

"Yeah. I-I was in Times Square on my way to shoot something, and all of a sudden I felt dizzy, and my publicist called a car over and I… I don't know what happened."

The girl started bawling while laying down, but the woman who saved her pulled her into her arms. She hugged the girl while her tears stained her shirt, but she didn't really care about that. The poor girl just experienced death; however, she wondered if the girl knew that already.

"Can I ask you something?" The woman asked.

"Yes." the young girl answered. Her eyes were bloodshot just like the man's, but for completely different reasons. She was certainly tired, but she probably felt more alive in this moment - no pun intended - than she did her whole life.

"Did you have any dreams before you woke up?"

The girl sniffled, and she moved her dirty blonde bangs out of her face. "Yeah - a quick one. I was fourteen, and I was back on the high school cheerleading team. I was reliving my first kiss behind the bleachers," she chuckled. "It was homecoming night, and he was the waterboy for the football team. We were both really nervous, and I had braces, but he was so sweet and so innocent and I was too and everything in that moment just felt-"

"Perfect?" The girl's hero asked.

"Yes!" she answered. "How did you know?!"

The woman sighed. "Well… when people are, um, passing on, they usually relive their-"

"Wait." she said. "Are you telling me I was dead?"

"Yes."

"But how am I alive?"

"Umm…"

"Did you save me?"

"Kind of, yes."

"No way! Are you some kind of witch or something?" the girl inquired. "I'm not freaked out, by the way. I've seen The Craft before."

She rolled her eyes. It had been 30 years since the movie and people still referenced it. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain."

"Oh! Don't worry! I've got all day!" She laughed.

But as soon as she began to explain with as gentle of syntax as she could come up with, she heard shouts from a while away. Soon several helicopters came over the two of them, and they found themselves caught on camera. Instantly, she knew that SHIELD would hear about this. Not only did she break her contract, she saved someone who was obviously important to the rest of the world, and it would be permanently documented - just like surveillance. Luckily, though, she didn't explain her story, so it gave her some leeway when it came to making up one when the time came. Soon, hundreds of reporters surrounded her, but someone familiar to the girl - her manager, she supposed, was at her side. Calls for someone named Rachel became audible to the woman, but as she was isolated from pop culture, she had no idea who this Rachel was.

"So," the girl shouted over the people. "I take it your name is Rachel?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "Rachel Ford. And you?"

Madeline said, "Madeline. Madeline Bennet."

The ashy-blonde Rachel hugged her. "Well, Madeline, maybe we can hang out sometime. Does next weekend sound good?"

She was shocked. She could no longer be isolated from society, especially now that the world would soon blow up with whatever Rachel said about her, but hanging out with the girl? That was taking it a bit too far.

She smiled softly. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll give you a rain check in a few days."

"Rain check?" Rachel called.

"A phone call."

"Ooooohhhhhh. Okay! Clyde will give you my number. I gotta go!"

"Okay… uh, bye?" Madelinel questioned.

"Bye for now!" Rachel waved. She walked into an all-white Range Rover, presumably hers, and her manager - Clyde, Madeline guessed- handed her a slip of paper. She nodded once as a sign of respect, but Clyde wanted to shake her hand instead. She obliged, and Clyde spoke like a sleazy car salesman with an accent from the Bronx.

"I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Miss Bennet," he spoke, his bald spot glistening with sweat. "You've saved the most famous girl in Hollywood! My number as well as Rachel's is in there, and we'll be sure you'll receive compensation for your heroic actions."

Reporters were already starting to leave. "Oh, I don't need any money, sir. She needed help and I helped. Really, it isn't-"

"Oh, nonsense. It's all me! This is mine, as well as Hollywood's way of saying thank you. Besides, you may get a few good opportunities out of this." He raised an eyebrow."You got any talents, kid?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Madeline shrugged it off. "It's been years since I've done anything."

"Well even if you can't, I can make you have talent." Clyde started walking away but got louder in the process. "You're worth millions now, Miss Bennet! Maybe even billions!"

"Billions?" Madeline said softly. Clyde closed the door to the range rover, but he and Rachel waved goodbye from the window. Madeline waved back politely, but on the inside, she was afraid. She had no clue what she'd gotten herself into, but she did know three things: 1) she saved probably the most famous woman in the Western world, 2) Clyde wants her signed to his management label, and most importantly, 3) she broke her contract, and soon SHIELD was coming to find her. The saddest part of all was that if SHIELD came running, two of the people she feared the most would come with them: Steve "Captain America" Rogers and James "Bucky" Barnes.

Before she could think about it any more, the dead man - which nearly everyone ignored, began to stand up. He hadn't died, even though she broke his neck, and when she stood, he grabbed his head and twisted it back into place before turning towards Madeline. "So," he nearly purred, "how about that fight?"

Without thinking she grabbed the gun from her waist, and instantly she remembered how to control dogs the way she did with the ones in New York.

"SIT," Madeline ordered.

The man's knees locked, and he fell on his buttocks into the dirt, the thud being felt in her feet. When they unlocked, he crossed his legs and obediently looked up at Madeline.

In case there were any people around, she locked the silencer she had onto the barrel of the gun and placed it between his eyes. "Now sleep."


	2. Chapter 2

p dir="ltr"That morning, Madeline's eyes scanned the homepage of every major celebrity news magazine, and on the front was nearly the same picture of Rachel and Madeline, whether it be from an aerial view or up close and personal. One line in particular captivated her, though - RACHEL AND MADDIE: AMERICA'S NEWEST DYNAMIC DUO? Well, if she and Rachel got along, and Clyde meant what he said about making her have talent, maybe she could be the next Rosemary Clooney - beautiful, smart, and one heck of a singer. Rachel seemed more like the Vera Ellen type - bubbly, charming, pretty, and an incredible dancer. Those two in White Christmas brought memories to Madeline's head, ones where she'd mourn over Steve and Bucky in front of the place where they used to sleep in the summers. She didn't remember Cap, though; she knew Steve. She knew Steve as a sixteen-year-old with light blonde hair and eyes full of wonder. He always liked to draw, but he wanted more, and a military life always drew him in. But Bucky… she was always in love with him. A lot of the time, when they were supposed to be in school, she and Bucky would skip for the day and lay down on grass in the parks. Sometimes, when Bucky scrambled to find a dime, they would either go to the movies or get ice cream. And when Steve found a nickel, he'd tag along too. No matter what, they'd always paid for her. Back then, the men paid for the women, even if they were poor and she was one of the Bennets. Now, instead of crying over the memories, she looked to them with a smile./p  
p dir="ltr"But now was certainly not the time for a smile. She was on the cover of every magazine and web page and news of her sudden appearance to save Rachel was fabricated nearly into something she didn't recognize. Speaking of Hollywood's new bombshell, Madeline decided to look Rachel up, and within the millions of options that came up, an essay from the woman herself appeared on a magazine's website. She seemed to live in a world where everything was lightning fast and she just wanted to isolate herself and just relax, something Madeline did every day. What Rachel wanted the world to have, she already had, and because of that, she agreed with every single one of her opinions in a simple and matter-of-fact fashion. Speaking of, her fashion sense was incredible - it was something of a modern Jackie-O, but with some twist Madeline couldn't exactly pin down. Other than that, she found out a little bit more from her Wikipedia page: she was 28 years old, a two-time Academy Award nominee, Golden Globe winner for her role in Secrets as a female con artist, and a frequent Tonight Show guest "known for her witty comebacks, sharp poise, and powerful way in which she delivers her segments." Annie even checked out one of her Nancy Grace-ish sketches from Saturday Night Live, and after laughing so hard she choked on multiple occasions, she jumped to the conclusion that Rachel wasn't all that bad, though some of her boyfriend choices were questionable./p  
p dir="ltr"When reading her thirty-eighth article on Rachel, she was interrupted by Paige, her great-niece and one of her adopted daughters - Elizabeth was her other one. She had olive skin, long and dark burgundy-colored hair, and black eyes that you could probably see the earth's core in. Her nose was small but rounded, and she had the perfect oval face. Almost always she adorned it with little makeup, but today she had on berry lipstick which complemented her white shirt and faded jeans. Her accessory was a light brown, 3/4 sleeved sweater, in addition to little gold bangles that danced across the room lit by the lightbulbs of the study. She was also petite, but she made up for it in her personality: she was an ambitious girl with a sense of adventure that could remind you of an eight-year old child sometimes. She cleared her throat to catch her adopted mother's attention, and when she did, her voice sounded like honey glaze drizzled over a Thanksgiving ham./p  
p dir="ltr""Hey, Aunt Maddie," she said, "It's dinner time."/p  
p dir="ltr""Yeah, I've been busy." Madeline shrugged it off./p  
p dir="ltr""Doing what? Looking at your new girlfriend?"/p  
p dir="ltr""I... um... Shush, child." Maddie said. She wasn't her girlfriend, but soon accusations would pop up out of nowhere to try and find an excuse to make them together seem like a couple. But Madeline was certainly straight. After all, she was and is technically still married to a man./p  
p dir="ltr""Anyways," Paige said in a sing-song tone, "look what I found!" From behind her back, she saw yet another headline from another magazine: emRACHEL: IN LOVE WITH MADDIE?/em/p  
p dir="ltr"She groaned. "Why?"/p  
p dir="ltr""Because," Paige smirked. "You're the new Samantha Ronson!"/p  
p dir="ltr""Who?"/p  
p dir="ltr""Samantha Ronson… lesbian that was with Lindsay Lohan…" she scanned her aunt's face. "Wait, you don't know who they are, do you?"/p  
p dir="ltr"Madeline sighed. "Sometimes you're so modern it kills me."/p  
p dir="ltr""I figured you'd know more after living a hundred years."/p  
p dir="ltr"Madeline glared. "I've still got two months, Katherine."/p  
p dir="ltr"Paige sighed. She hated it when she was called by her birth name."Whatever. But anyways, what are ya gonna do about these guys?"/p  
p dir="ltr""What guys?"/p  
p dir="ltr""These people that keep, like, killing people."/p  
p dir="ltr"emIf only you knew/em, Madeline thought. "So far it's just one."/p  
p dir="ltr""But there's more than one! There's got to be. He's probably got friends that want you dead now."/p  
p dir="ltr""Well, I can't do anything about it." Madeline said. "I already broke my contract."/p  
p dir="ltr"From out of nowhere, another voice came into their conversation. It was slightly nasal-y, but mature, like a grown woman's. "What do you mean you broke your contract?!"/p  
p dir="ltr""Someone kicked ass today!" Paige said cheerfully./p  
p dir="ltr"Madeline said louder, looking at the ceiling of the study, "It was only to save someone else! Give me a break."/p  
p dir="ltr""I can't do that!" Lily called back. A thud was heard nearby, and Paige jumped. Madeline remained still despite the commotion./p  
p dir="ltr""And why not?"/p  
p dir="ltr"The window next to Maddie's computer chair opened, and the light of the garage suddenly hit Paige. In came an ethereal woman, tall and slender with bare feet as pale as the moon, and Paige began to calm herself. The woman's layered navy hair settled in the middle of her shoulder blades, and her skin was almost as pale as Loki's himself. But her hazel green eyes were somehow welcoming, and it became second nature to love her once she smiled. Her face was often brighter when she did so, and if you saw it yourself, you'd feel nurtured instantly. But right now, it wasn't exactly nurturing to see her. More than anything in the room, it was fear of what she would say that overwhelmed Paige and Maddie./p  
p dir="ltr""Do you realize what's gonna happen to us?" the woman said./p  
p dir="ltr""Nope, not really." Paige interjected./p  
p dir="ltr""Well, I'll explain it again. You see, if SHIELD knows, which I'm pretty sure they do, they'll find us. And since we broke our agreements, they'll use it to their advantage, and they'll start tracking us again... And you know what that means, right Maddie?"/p  
p dir="ltr"Maddie shook her head. "I haven't done this in a while."/p  
p dir="ltr""In order to avoid tracking, we'll have to join the Avengers. And I'm sure we don't want that, do we?"/p  
p dir="ltr""Well it's too late now." Paige said. "They probably found us already."/p  
p dir="ltr""What if we explain that the girl was going to die, and I had no clue what I was getting myself into?" Annabel finally bursted. "Then I can sacrifice myself."/p  
p dir="ltr""Nope," both Paige and Lily responded. "All for one, one for all."/p  
p dir="ltr""Plus," Lily added, "I get to see Tony Stark. And we all know I want a piece of that Stark."/p  
p dir="ltr"Maddie rolled her eyes. "Thanks, guys. But does anyone know if Elizabeth is okay with this?"/p  
p dir="ltr"Elizabeth's voice was heard loudly from the floor above them: "I will be if we can eat already!"/p  
p dir="ltr"Paige chuckled. "Okay, we'll be up in a sec."/p  
p dir="ltr"The three of them came upstairs to meet Elizabeth at the dining room table, but as soon as Maddie sat down at the head of the table, their doorbell rang once, echoing before she was about to pray. It was Elizabeth who got up (after muttering many profanities) to the door behind them. At the door was someone Maddie and Paige would have guessed, but Elizabeth and Lily had no clue about. It was Rachel, dressed in non-1950s clothing with no makeup and her hair in a ponytail. "Is Madeline home?" she asked, trembling rooted in her tone./p  
p dir="ltr"Before she could answer, Maddie ran to the door and pushed Elizabeth out of the way, telling her to go eat. "What's wrong?" she asked./p  
p dir="ltr""I need your help." she said, handing her a letter with no return address. She kept one letter in the same hand, and in the other was an overnight bag. Behind her, a black Mercedes Benz was parked on the grass."But before I ask... I need to explain something." She took down her cotton hair cover and moved back to where her car was, about a hundred feet away, and from there she split into three clones, and Annabel wasn't sure which one was actually Rachel from her small front porch. One of her moved down the road while the other moved towards the house, and with another flash, the clones morphed back into one and landed on her front porch. She wasn't out of breath, and she wasn't out of her mind, either. Maddie then understood why she had to get over here now. And most importantly, how she got here. The Mad Dogs wanted her there not just because she was a kill./p  
p dir="ltr"They wanted her there because she was one of em/emthem./p  
p dir="ltr" /p 


	3. Chapter 3

Madelline, Lily, Elizabeth, and Rachel had a good night last night, but Paige got very little sleep the night before. They all knew she had school today, but Paige figured they didn't care. Rachel had to move in today, considering most of her stuff was still in her car, and Paige... had school.

Though she was certainly an equal part of her family, Paige couldn't help but feel ostracized because of her age. She was only twenty-one, so she had to go to school and get her degree and get a job to support herself since she could control what she had. Those were Madelline's rules, and apparently those rules only applied to Paige, because she sure didn't see Elizabeth working for anything. But for all Paige knew, she could be working from home.

In the dull morning light and silence of her history final. Paige had a bright idea. She could work from home and start her own business, and she can make ends meet for the four - no, five now - of them for the next few decades. But then again, she liked her independent study - and she did it all so she could go back and see what SHIELD is really all about… and why Madelline and Lily don't want to go near it. They always told her they were hiding because they didn't want to fight crime, but after yesterday, Paige was seriously taking a second glance at their motives.

After she double checked and turned in her final, Paige realized she had to run - her last final of the day was starting in five minutes, and she was eager to present her topic. As her advisor for her independent major in cultural phenomenon, Dr. Martin encouraged her to create her American Cultural Studies final on this topic in particular, considering it is still fairly a mystery compared to other superheroes - they all knew Captain America and Iron Man, and her classmates weren't interested in Thor or Hawkeye or even Black Widow to hear her presentation. But recently, a new superhero was on the rise. He was young, fresh, and conveniently wore a mask. Plus, there was a huge rumor going around that he or she may go to school with all of them, so Paige took that to her advantage. When she walked into that last final, she strutted in with confidence in her suit and glasses, and Dr. Martin gave her an encouraging nod - he was excited as well. After the Doc introduced each presentation, Paige waited with anticipation through nine monologues about their topics, half-listening to them and half-thinking to herself how this could lead to her thesis for her Master's degree. _We are all heroes_, Paige thought, _and the modern day superhero makes us all feel worthy._

When the ninth presentation - something about the phenomenon with death in American culture - was finished, Dr. Martin made his way to the podium for the last time. Butterflies fluttered in Paige''s stomach, and she glanced around eagerly. This was what she lived for: the rush of blood to her stomach and her heart beating faster than it was before. Everyone around her was looking at the professor, so she turned back to her front. She was in the middle of the audience in their lecture hall, and the Doc looked towards her before he began. She nodded.

"Great job Alexa," the Doc began. "The concept of death and what is after it is still an important part of our culture today, even if it is shrouded in mystery."

_What bullshit,_ Paige thought.

Dr. Martin continued. "This last presentation… this last presentation has excited me since I first heard of it. Its roots in New York bring much of a myth feel to the topic, yet it is so plausible that most native New Yorkers believe it's real. You all may have heard of it, but our last presenter has studied it since before the day she even entered college. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting on Spider-Man, Miss Paige Barton."

Applause from the other nine in the room was small, like the other presentations, but she stood on anyway like she was speaking to thousands. A pat on the back came from the girl next to her - Evie, her best friend - and a whisper landed in Paige's ear: You got this. She nodded towards Evie and excused herself from the rest in the row, including the mysterious boy who always wore the same jacket, even in spring. She calmly walked down the stairs on her left side to the podium where Dr. Martin usually gave his lectures to the ten of them. From here, she could see her empty seat and the others that surrounded her from Evie to James to the shy boy on her right corner. But she looked away quickly, went down to her notes, clicked on the PowerPoint, and began efficiently.

To Paige, it seemed like such a short time, but it was probably because she was caught up in something she loved. Annabel and Elizabeth always told her that when she was stuck in a crisis of finding out what was her life's goal, but now that she was feeling all of her pent up excitement being released, she understood what this meant: she was more eager than ever now to consider her plan to continue in superhero study. When she finished, she felt her piercing words echo into the air, and even Evie couldn't help but look at her doe-eyed. "Spider-Man, with his sarcasm and bravery and street smarts and legend status, is essentially an incarnation of each and every one of us - and who we want to be." The Doc began to smile then, and nearly all of the class began clapping loudly. Paige was proud in that moment: she finally had one moment to herself, and that one moment was triumphant. The doc made his way down the stairs and shook her hand again, proud of his star pupil. Paige scanned the nine of them once more, and noticed the same person wasn't clapping. It was the boy in the brown jacket again.

"That was excellent." Dr. Martin beamed, then scanned the row of her peers. "Does anyone have any questions for Ms. Barton?"

Silence filled the room for a few seconds, but the boy with the same jacket raised his hand. "I have a question, Doc."

"Go ahead, Mr. Parker," The Doc said. "No one's gonna stop you."

Mister Parker stood up, as was the rule in the class. "What if," he paused. "What if Spider-Man was an alter ego… that instead of being who we want to be, is a coping mechanism for something?"

"What do you mean?" Evie asked, then shamefully looked down. She never liked interrupting people.

"I mean… what if the guy had something in his long-term memory scar him, and instead of acting how he wants, he is acting the opposite of what everyone tells him to do beneath the mask, because with the mask off he's only allowed to act a certain way in society?"

Paige looked at him in shock. She never expected anything like that to come out of the silent guy in the class. The Doc did, though, and he wasn't too happy about it; however, he kept his composure while answering his question.

"Well, we're not the man himself, so we can't ask him, but that's a good theory, Mr. Parker. Maybe in Culture Studies II we can further interpret that theory."

Peter knew the real motive behind what he said all semester, but now seemed like the perfect time to call him out on it. "Well maybe you can quit being biased towards 'Miss Barton' because she's so hot to you!" He said her name mockingly, and they all knew it. She started fuming, but then looked back at the Doc. He was more red than she. "We all know it's true! It's just that everyone wants an A-"

"Get out!" ordered, practically growling at him. "And don't you ever come back to this classroom!" He was visibly shaking, his large bald spot glistening with sweat, and he looked around nervously even after Mr. Parker was gone. She and Evie had taken psychology and the body together, and they both knew what this meant. It was a sign of two things, often intertwined; the first was a shot to the ego that every person experienced at least once in their lives… and the second was a denial of something not even said.

"It's true, isn't it?" was all Paige could muster. Glancing at Evie, she saw the same things that were in Paige's own eyes. Anger, betrayal, and most of all, shock. Dr. Martin wouldn't say anything, and Mr. Parker was long gone, probably out of the building. But out of the corner of his eye, Paige saw something glow brighter and brighter, and as it did fear crawled into her, and she wanted to pounce and kill but she couldn't fight something like him. Kids were already leaving class running, but she and Evie stayed to see what was happening. Soon Paige got it - his eyes were turning red, and his upper lip curled as he began to snarl at Evie, her eyes afraid of what was happening. But Paige had to get out before what happened to her would change her life and Evie's.

She ran quickly up the stairs to grab Evie by her wrist. She stared into the eyes of the Doc, like something was inside of him that only she could see, before being pulled out of his trance to stare at Paige.

"Come on, Evie, run!" she yelled. Evie immediately trailed behind her, her pride in her best friend soaring higher than it did before.

* * *

By the time the two of them were safe, it was well after lunch. Evie and Paige had hidden in the library, within eight floors and a million books and thousands of people doing their work or reading. Evie kept asking questions, but Paige wasn't ready to explain. It would have to take a lot of work, plus counsel from Annabel. Even then, she still hadn't figured out her power. She had to have had one by now, right? Evie left an hour later, but she promised Paige to meet her Saturday for coffee and an explanation. That meant she had three days to think it through… and not freak out in the process.

It had been two hours since Evie left, and at the window wall facing the New York City skyline Paige found herself drawing yet again. Lately her sketchbook had been filled with little doodles of the Avenger logo and attempts at what SHIELD's logo may be and even what Spider-Man looked like behind the mask. A lot of her wanted to say he was a dark and brooding guy like the winter soldier that had made news a few years ago, but she doubted that. After all that research she had done, he was certainly no brooding guy. He had to be the type of guy you saw at parties and tell immediately he'd be bringing many ladies home if he could. To Paige there had to be a supermodel face behind the red mask, because it would explain the crush she had on him based on all that research. She had done a quick sketch of his jawline before seeing Elizabeth and her car from the eighth floor window. She'd drive around the block before stopping, but it gave her enough time to run down the stairs... and unfortunately scare herself by running into Mr. Parker. Her papers started flying, and her student I.D. fell to the ground, just like her. Her back landed flat against the ground, and Mr. Parker immediately heard her oof in pain. Grabbing her papers that fell around her, he ran around like a madman before catching them all and organizing them into a neat stack.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" they both said simultaneously while their words jumbled into one big apology. He eventually gave up and just handed her the stack after she sat up, and she just smiled in response.

"Um, thanks, Mr. Parker..." Paige said, her voice implying that she wanted to giggle.

"It's Peter, actually," he said, moving to grab her ID. "And you're welcome... uh... Katherine?"

"Paige," she said. "Just call me Paige."

Peter wanted to smile, but something was on his mind. He couldn't help but stare at her, and she knew something was up. He offered her a hand up, and she took it. He looked down before he spoke.

"I-uh, I'm really sorry for what happened back there," he said, putting a hand on the back of his neck. "It wasn't necessary."

"Oh, no, it's fine," she answered. "Actually, I need to thank you. Something bad happened earlier, and uh... if Spider-Man were there, actually, he'd probably have done a better job than I did."

Peter chuckled almost painfully. It's almost like she knew. "Can I ask what happened?"

"Uh, after you left, his eyes started turning red, and he started growling like a dog, and he looked like he was gonna bite Evie. I just grabbed her and started running. I've been here since."

He chuckled, but really he feared for her. "Are you okay, though? You looked kinda mad earlier."

"Well, I'm not injured." she said. "And neither are you, so you're fine."

"I guess so." Peter said back. They started walking outside, but he was nervous. He wouldn't look at her as they walked outside, but when Paige started distancing herself towards the curb.

"Hey!" Peter called. "What are you taking next semester?"

She turned to him, her ponytail blowing in the polluted breeze. "Social Problems, Art II, and I have an internship."

"Do you have anything in the summer?"

"No," Paige answered. Why is he even asking? she thought. This is so awkward.

"We should hang out sometime."

"Um, okay?"

Peter scribbled down something on a sheet of paper, then tore it off quickly. Paige's car was turning the corner, and Elizabeth didn't like to wait. "Here," he said, handing it to her. "Maybe next weekend?"

"Maybe," she smiled politely. "I'll see what's in my schedule."

And with that, Paige's ride pulled up to the curb and Elizabeth looked excited about something, probably that Paige was talking to a boy for the first time in her life.

"Bye, Peter." Paige said, turning after she opened the door. "It was nice meeting you… Finally."

He smiled back. "Bye Paige. You too."

She hopped into her car's front seat. Elizabeth was nearly screaming at Paige about how cute he was. Peter was slowly turning red on the inside, but the outside didn't show a thing. He had a job to do, and a pretty burgundy-haired girl wasn't going to stop him from it.

When Paige drove off, Peter grabbed his ancient flip-phone. He told SHIELD it was useless for them now, but they figured it was compact enough for battle. Using the phone anyway, he dialed Agent Coulson's number. As per usual, it rang twice, then Coulson answered urgently, "What is it, Parker?" Peter rarely called, but this time it was an emergency… and he was ready this time.

"Code 344692. The Mad Dogs have infiltrated. I repeat-"

Coulson pressed the speaker button from his desk, and the entire helicarrier, from the control room to the cafeteria, rang with the voice of Peter Parker.

"Code 344692: The Mad Dogs have infiltrated."


End file.
